Automatic switch mechanism.



0. B. RICE, JR. AUTOMATIC SWITCH MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30, 1904. N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES I INVEN'TOR I W (a. a mo, 51

UNITED STATES Patented July 19, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTOPHER B. RICE, JR, OF DEFIANCE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO PETER WEIGERDING AND H. H. MOLLENCUP,

OF DEFIANCE, OHIO.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 765,195, dated July 19, 1904,

Application filed March 30, 1904.

To all whmn it may concern:

' Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER B. RIoE, J r., a resident of Defiance, in the county of Defiance and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Switch Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improved automatic switch, the object of the invention being to provide improvements of this character which will be comparatively simple in construction, perfect in operation, and strong and accurate, yet sufliciently elastic to equalize or compensate for expansion and contraction.

INith this object in View the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is adiagrammatic plan view illustrating my improvements, and Figs. 2, 3, 1, 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged views illustrating various details of construction.

1 represents the main track, 2 a siding, and 3 the ordinary switch-rails. A rod 4, located at right angles to the track, has the switch rails secured thereto, and when said rod is moved longitudinally the switch-rails will be thrown. The outer end of this rod 4: is provided with a vertical shaft on which rollers 5 are located above and below the rod and are located in cam grooves or slots 6 in parallel disks 7, which form a cam-Wheel of many cams and are secured to the face of a gearwheel 8. This gear-wheel 8 is engaged by segmental gears 9, forming one member of bell-crank levers 10, the other members of which are. connected by rods 11 with automatic mechanism and also with a hand-lever 12 for operating them.

The mechanism operated by a plow or other device 13, carried by a locomotive or car, comprises a covering or casing 14:, beneath Serial No. 200,762. (No model.)

which a horizontal wheel 15 is mounted to turn and is provided with a series of pins 16, mounted in pockets 17 in the wheel and elasticall y held in their upward position by springs 18, located in the bottom of said pockets and bearing against the lower ends of said pins. The upper ends of the pins are provided with rollers 19 to run against the cover or casing 1 1 and reduce friction, and horizontal rollers 20 are mounted on contracted portions of pins 16, against which the plow 13 strikes, and they facilitate the easy operation and ready escape of the plow. The pins 16 are located at regular intervals around the wheel, and at least one of them is always projected by its springinto the slotted plow chamber 21 in the path of the plow, so that it will be'struck and the wheel turned the desired distance. To the lower face of the wheel double or parallel disks 22 are secured and are made with cam-slots 23, in which are mounted rollers 24 on opposite sides of a rod 25. The rod 25 is connected to a bell-crank lever 26, which is connected by a rod 27 with one of the levers 10, and suitable bell-crank levers 28 or other flexible compensating devices may be located between the sections of rod 27 to give to the connections the necessary flexibility to compensate for contraction and expansion thereof. One of these plow-operated mechanisms is located at each side of the switch on the main track and on the siding, and the above description applies alike to both. To prevent possibility of the wheels being moved too far at a single operation, the lower disk 22 thereon is made with a continuous groove 29 of star formation, and a bent rod 30 has sliding mounting on the connecting-rod and is made rectansegments with the large gear-wheel, I provide the segments with overlapping fingers 35, as shown in Fig. 7. These fingers 35 project over the face of the gear-wheels and prevent the segments saggingout of perfect mesh with the wheels.

The operation of my improvements is as follows: With the switch as shown in Fig. 1, having the main track 1 closed and siding 2 open, we will suppose a train to be approaching the switch from the left, which must pass along the main track. The engineer lowers the plow 18, which will enter the slotted casing 14 and strike a pin 16, thus turning wheel 15 (in the passage of the plow through the chamber 21) the proper distance. This movement of wheel 15 will also turn disks or camwheels 22 secured thereto a distance of one cam and move the rod 25 longitudinally and through the medium of bell-crank lever 26 and rod 27 swing the segment 9 and turn gear 8. The movement of the latter and the camwheel thereon moves rod 4 longitudinally to throw the switch-rails 3 and open the main track. If another train follows in the same direction and wishes to enter the siding, the engagement of the plow with the pins 16 will properly throw the switch, as above explained, as the next cam of the wheels are the reverse of the first, and so on. It will thus be seen that the switch can be thrown by a train moving'in either direction or by one coming from the siding onto the main track, as'the pins 16 are always in position to be engaged by the plow 13 on the locomotive or car.

Slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of the parts described without departing from my invention,

and hence I would have it understood that I i do not restrict myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such slight, changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit'and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an automatic switch, the combination with a wheel located adjacent to the track and having a series of sockets therein, of springpressed pins in said sockets, a slotted casing, a device on a locomotive or' car to enter said slotted easing into which the pins project and engage a pin to impart a partial revolution to the wheel, and means operated by the wheel to move the switch-rails.

2. In an automatic switch, the combination with a track, anda switch therein, of a camwheel adjacent to the switch and adapted to turn the same,wheels projecting into the track at opposite sides of the switch, pins on said wheels adapted to be engaged by devices on a locomotive or car to partially turn the wheels, and means transmitting motion to turn the cam-wheel when the other wheels are turned, to operate the switch.

3. In an automatic switch, the combination with a horizontally-mounted wheel located adjacent to the track, of upwardly springpressed pins in the wheel and projecting above the same, a slotted casing over the wheel and against which the pins bear, means carried by a locomotive or car to engage the pins and turn the wheel, and a cam-wheel secured to said wheel and said cam-wheel adapted to operate the switch-rails.

4. In an automatic switch, the combination with a horizontally-mounted wheel located adjacent to the track, upwardly-projecting pins on the wheel to be engaged by a device on a locomotive or car to turn the wheel a partial revolution, disks secured to the lower face of the wheel and having cam grooves or slots therein, a rod having rollers at opposite sides mounted in said grooves or slots, means connected with said rod for moving the switchrails when said rod is moved, and means on the rod engaging in a star-groove in the lowest disk to limit the movement of the camwheel.

5. In an automatic switch, the combination with switch-rails, of a rod secured thereto and projecting to one side of the track, a camwheel to move said rod, a gear-wheel to turn the cam-wheel, bell-crank levers one member of whichcomprises toothed segments to engage,

the gear-wheel and turn it, and means operated by devices on a locomotive or car to move said bell-crank levers.

6. In an automaticswitch, the combination with switch-rails, of a rod secured thereto and projecting to one side of the track, a camwheel engaging said rod and adapted to move the same, a gear-wheel secured to the camwheel, segments. engaging said gear-wheel, and forming one member of bell-crank levers, horizontal wheels projecting between the rails of the tracks, upwardly-projecting pins on said wheels to be .engaged by devices on a locomotive or car to turn said wheels, and devices between said wheels and bell-crank levers for transmitting motion from the wheels thereto, to move the switch-rails.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHRISTOPHER B. RICE, JR.

I/Vitnesses:

W. D. HILL, 0. B. RICE, Sr. 

